What better reason to come out of a blogging “hiatus” than to celebrate a new life? One of my favorite food bloggers and a dear friend, Joanne from Fifteen Spatulas, and her husband Pete have recently welcomed Baby James into the world. A slew of us are throwing a virtual party in their honor today!
Joanne’s perseverance and strength through medical challenges over the past few years, as well as her many personal and professional triumphs, have inspired me again and again. And, of course, the dishes she shares on Fifteen Spatulas are always so inviting and just the kind of food I like to eat. She’s a beautiful person inside and out and I couldn’t be happier for her and Pete as they get to know their new little guy.
The Ginger Lemonade recipe that I’m sharing today was actually one that my friends and I wished we’d had around the time my own son was born. We were in a parent education group together and one of the ladies brought a pitcher of the most incredible lemonade, infused with ginger, to one of our meetings. She had a private chef and he had made it (that’s the life!). I’m not the biggest ginger fan in the world, but the spicy kick it brought to the lemonade was absolutely irresistible. We never got the recipe from her chef, but we did insist that she bring more lemonade to our subsequent meetings.
I finally figured out that Ginger Lemonade recipe (all you have to do is simmer fresh ginger with your simple syrup) — you can find it at the end of this post. Also, here are links to party dishes from the many other food bloggers who are celebrating the arrival of Baby James:
Appetizers
Italian Sub Sandwich Roll-ups from Michael of Inspired by Charm
Smoky Roasted Red Pepper Sun Dried Tomato Hummus from Jeanette of Jeanette’s Healthy Living
Creamy Sweet Potato Soup from Sadie of Dairy Good Life
Whipped Goat Cheese & Blueberry Balsamic Crostini from Meseidy of The Noshery
Rosemary Flatbread with Baked Goat Cheese from Heidi of FoodieCrush
Spring Herb Cream Cheese Appetizer Cups from Rachel of Rachel Cooks
Crostini with Almond Ricotta and spicy olive tapenade from Heather of HeatherChristo
Drinks
Fruit Freeze from Deborah of Taste and Tell
Mint Lemonade from Trish of Mom On Timeout
Ginger Lemonade from Kathy of Panini Happy
Desserts
Chocolate-Covered Rice Krispies Treats from Julie of The Little Kitchen
Orange Fluff from Jamie of My Baking Addiction
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies from Susannah of Feast + West
Mini Ombre Heart Cookies from Bridget of Bake at 350
Mini Coconut Pound Cakes from Mary of Barefeet In The Kitchen
Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting from Jennifer of Savory Simple
Unicorn Shaped Cookies from Jessie of CakeSpy
Oreo Cheesecake Bites from Brenda of a farmgirl’s dabbles
Lemon Blueberry Bread from Glory of Glorious Treats
Blintz with Blackberry Sauce from Sommer of A Spicy Perspective
Pastel Rainbow Cake from Bree of Baked Bree
Individual Chocolate Souffles from Andie of Andie Mitchell
Ginger Lemonade
By Kathy Strahs, PaniniHappy.com
Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup sugar
- 3-1/2 cups cold water, divided
- 1 two-by-two inch piece fresh ginger (about 2 ounces), peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (5 or 6 lemons)
DIRECTIONS:
- In a saucepan over high heat, stir the sugar, 1 cup of water and the ginger until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool to room temperature. Strain and discard the ginger.
- Stir the lemon juice, ginger syrup and the remaining 2-1/2 cups of cold water together in a serving pitcher. Serve cold over ice.
